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10 healthy habits for a balanced life

I like to say that there are 10 healthy habits for a balanced life. No matter what is going on in my life, including being on a vacation, having a day off or just my day to day work life, these healthy habits are important to me. You may be wondering well, what are those 10 healthy habits to live a balanced life – keep on reading. I often say that everything in life is about balance. Healthy living is the equilibrium of habits, nothing too extreme. Living extreme with eating, exercise, religion, drugs, alcohol can lead to unwanted unhealthy habits.

I have to admit that over the years I have tried some of those extreme fad diets such as; Atkins, Gluten-free, low-carb, low-fat, candida diet, HCG, and sugar-free. I’ve seen clients, friends and family members who also count every calorie, eat low-fat, low-carb, juice, cleanse, detox, HCG, and just about any new or re-cycled diet out there. A common theme about these diets is that they tend to be extreme. They create an obsessive, distracted mindset. There is no long-term success only short-term if, at any. The unhealthy mindset that is created is a culture of obsession, food shaming, and guilt.  The weight lost is not sustainable and in some cases more weight is added, slowing the metabolic rate even further.

So, what are the 10 healthy habits to live a balance life and have long-term success? Well, a key component is consistency in your habits because it takes time. Also, try to take a step back to detach from the obsession and change your negative self-talk into positive ones. What do I mean by that? Well, first of all being obsessed with anything can cause the opposite outcome. Your thoughts are your reality and if you spend too much time during the day obsessed with calories, the foods you eat, social media fitness people, or comparing yourself to others – you’ll end up being depressed and disconnected from the real world. Changing your negative thoughts into more positive ones is a great healthy habit to live by.

Eating healthy foods provided by mother nature such as fruits and vegetables, certain grass fed animal proteins is another healthy habit to incorporate. Cut out the packaged and processed foods as much as possible.

Think about your day and be sure do 1-2 things for your health such as, exercising, having some greens, or drinking more water. It’s not about yesterday or tomorrow, it’s about where you are now, today – in this moment.

Maintaining a healthy happy weight all year around with the 10 healthy habits for a balanced life is living balanced. You also won’t have to go on a crash diet for an event or vacation. For the average woman a healthy weight is not super skinny like some advertisements want you to believe. Historically having some fat on the abdomen along with good hips on a woman signaled to the men that the woman can have children. It is extremely attractive to men so, don’t let the unrealistic airbrushed magazines fool you.

Women’s bodies come in many different shapes and sizes however, the average woman will have curves and a bit of fat. No matter the amount of muscle you get naturally from lifting weights, fat is important for health too.  For a healthy and fit female body without the use of supplements or fat burners – is  16-18% bodyfat. Anything less than that will be hard to maintain for most women. Too low bodyfat ages a person and screws up the hormonal system. We certainly don’t need any more problems there!

10 healthy habits

1. CHANGE – your mindset and think of health as a daily balancing act and a lifestyle change
2. SLEEP – Your body repairs when you sleep – physical and psychological repair from 10pm-6am occurs
3. PATIENCE – it takes about 90 days to create a new habit so learn to be patient and loving with yourself during this process
4. READ – educate yourself on what’s in the foods you eat, if there is a mile long ingredient list you probably shouldn’t be eating it
5. ENERGY SYSTEM – think of your body as particles of energy and what’s the best fuel to keep it functioning well. So, don’t put Twinkies, cokes and other crappy foods in your body because eventually it will break down
6. HYDRATION –  find good clean water and drink it, add some lemon or other fruit you may like to help you drink more of it
7. EAT – healthy foods not packaged or processed at least 80-90% of the time
8. FORGET GUILT – Don’t feel guilty about eating something you think is ‘bad’ you create a negative association with foods when you do this, remember it is a process
9. KNOW YOURSELF – get to the root of why you self-sabotage and then create a more loving relationship with yourself – self-worth
10. MOVEMENT –  exercise is the best medicine  – even if it’s just to go on a walk around the neighborhood to start, the body is meant for movement and being outside in nature getting direct sunlight is the best mood booster out there

In conclusion, try not to obsess over weight and just start living a healthier life with these 10 healthy habits for a balanced life. Be the best you can be at whatever age you are without comparing yourself to anyone else. The best you can be is super strong and confident at any age with the proper exercise, mindset, nutrition, sleep and stress management techniques. Start now, you only have one life so live your best one now.

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